Major Spoilers Staff Picks for August 12, 2105

IT’S NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!

But what to read?

The staff at Major Spoilers offers up its list of books they are looking forward to, and recommend you do, too!

ADAM.3 #1 of 5 Writer/Artist/Cover Artist: Scott Kolins Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: Award-winning writer/artist Scott Kolins (Past Aways, The Flash, The Avengers) premieres his first original comic book creation: ADAM.3! A man born into a futuristic island utopia fights to save his troubled family as terrifying visions of a monstrous doom foretell the end to his Eden! Can Adam and his family survive S.E.E.D.S.?

WAYNE: This book is formatted much like Mouse Guard has been created, meaning the issues will be wider than they are tall. The first book is terrific, so I highly recommend it and can’t wait for the second issue!

APOLLO IX #1 Writer: Ashley Victoria Robinson Artist: Fernando Argosino Publisher: Top Cow Comics Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: FROM THE PAGES OF IXth GENERATION! Apollo IX is a ruthless scientist who uses his beauty in order to get his work done for him. Eros and Psyche are two of his brightest protégés, but will they live to see their contributions to Apollo IX’s latest experiment come to life?

STEPHEN: Buy it! Read it! Love it!

WAYNE: Major Spoilers’ very own Ashley Victoria Robinson scripts another great comic, so it’s a must-have! This one-shot highlights her top-notch skills in writing both drama and character, so don’t miss it!

ARTEMIS IX (ONE-SHOT) Writer: Dan Wickline Artist: Johnny Desjardins Publisher: Top Cow Productions Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: Still reeling from Hades IX’s surprise explosion in his city of New Cypress, Artemis IX tries to put things back to normal, only to discover that one of his own cyborgs is out to kill him. It could be only one of them or all of them, leaving him no one to trust. Just because you’re paranoid and the equivalent of a God doesn’t mean they’re not after you.

ASHLEY: I’m really excited for all the one shots coming out from Top Cow as a part of their Aphrodite IX series. My bias notwithstanding, it’s a ton of fun to see this world expanded by a new creative team.

BATMAN #43 Writer: Scott Snyder Artist: Greg Capullo Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: $3.99SOLICITATION: In the start of a new epic, a new villain stalks Gotham City. Will Batman be able to uncover the mystery of Mr. Bloom?

CHRIS:Look at that cover. Look at it! It’s like a horrific version of an already horrible Blind Melon song! That cover alone makes me want to read this book, not to mention Snyder is writing exciting Batman stories, trying new and interesting things, all with Greg Capullo art that blows almost everything else out of the water.

STEPHEN:Didn’t know what to expect in the new arc, but it has been good so far, so I see no need to skip this issue.

BEAUTY #1 Writer: Jeremy Haun, James A. Hurley Artist: Jeremy Haun Publisher: Image Comics Cover Price: $3.50SOLICITATION: THE PILOT SEASON WINNER RETURNS! Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease? In the world of The Beauty, physical perfection is attainable. The vast majority of the population has taken advantage of it, but Detectives Foster and Vaughn will soon discover it comes at a terrible price. Writer/artist JEREMY HAUN (Constantine, Batwoman) and co-writer JASON A. HURLEY offer up a startling reflection on the cost of looking good in this procedural science fiction tale.

CHRIS:Some of this sounds a bit like it’s been done before, but I’m a sucker for a good story that comments on society’s obsession with perfection. This sounds like a good one and I’m interested to see just where the mystery/procedural part of the tale comes in.

BOY-1 #1 (of 4)—SPOTLIGHT Writer: H.S. Tak Artist: Amancay Nahuelpan Publisher: IDW Publishing Cover Price: $3.99SOLICITATION: In the fast-approaching future, when the drug-addled heir of a genetic-engineering company begins to investigate his company’s murky past, he discovers he is the catalyst in a terrifying global event that will transform him and forever alter the course of human evolution.

RODRIGO:This looks like it could be interesting. Put me down for cautiously optimistic.

DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #1 Writer: Marguerite Bennett Artist: Marguerite Sauvage Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: The ultra-popular statues from DC Collectibles come to life in their own ongoing comic book series! Learn the story behind this alternate reality where the Second World War is fought by superpowered women on the front lines and behind the scenes! It all begins with the stories of Batwoman, Wonder Woman and Supergirl.

GEORGE:On the face, this title seems like the tail wagging the dog, with this comic coming out to seemingly retroactively justify a popular series of statues and artwork. But in putting Marguerites Bennet & Sauvage on this, it is clear that DC is treating the concept seriously. These are two great creators who could take the Bombshells idea into something beyond its mercantile pop art roots.

DESCENDER #6 Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Dustin Nguyen Publisher: Image Cover Price: $3.50 SOLICITATION: The oldest secret in the Universe is revealed and DESCENDER will never be the same.

ASHLEY: Descender is one of the saddest, prettiest books on the market right now. Tim 21 was left in immanent danger and I desperately need the resolution on that.

DOCTOR WHO 2015 FOUR DOCTORS #1 Writer: Paul Cornell Artist: Neil Edwards Publisher: Titan Publishing Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: The weekly event, running through August and September 2015, in place of the ongoing series, features all three Doctors from Titan’s regular ongoings. This epic event is the thrilling next chapter in Titan Comics’ bombastic Doctor Who publishing saga. The first issue releases Wednesday August 12, supported by the global Doctor Who Comics Day on Saturday August 15!

Writer Paul Cornell has penned classic episodes from the Doctor Who TV series (‘Father’s Day’, ‘Human Nature/Family of Blood’, both Hugo-nominated), classic Doctor Who novels, as well as successful comic book runs on titles such as Wolverine, Action Comics, Demon Knights, and Captain Britain and MI:13. The e​vent follows straight on from the issue #15 conclusions of Year One, with the second years of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors beginning after the event’s blistering finale!

MATTHEW:I was exposed to ‘The Five Doctors’ as a child, so I will always glom a multi-Doctor tale…

GOTHAM ACADEMY #9 Writer: Becky Cloonan Artist: Karl Kerschl Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: $2.99 SOLICITATION: If the gang thought it was hard to keep up with their homework before, now there’s a werewolf on campus at Gotham Academy! Talk about distractions!

ASHLEY: This is my favourite title that DC release month after month! As more and more of the mystery is unraveling I get drawn further into they story and am looking forward to understanding more about Olive and her strange family.

STEPHEN: There is something very wonderful about this series. Yes it is set in the Bat-verse, yes, Bat-villains have made an appearance, but this is a great all-ages book that doesn’t always feature Batman, and that is a good thing.

Blood, death, and fire—the darkest kind of magic. A monstrous secret from King Tiger’s past has found the mystic warrior, but can Tiger’s skills and sorcery triumph against an unthinkable supernatural obscenity linked to his own destiny? If the Tiger falls, the Dragon will rise!

MATTHEW:As the strongest of the CGW concepts, dating back to the original summer 20 years ago, I’m excited to see more King Tiger, especially after Stephen’s advance review!

PHONOGRAM: THE IMMATERIAL GIRL #1 Writer: Kieron Gillen Artist: Jamie McKelvie Publisher: Image Comics Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: The team behind the New York Times bestselling and Eisner-nominated smash hit THE WICKED + THE DIVINE return to the acclaimed urban-fantasy where they first made their names. Nearly a decade ago, Emily Aster sold half her personality for the power to rule a coven of phonomancers. I’m sure nothing could go horribly, monstrously wrong now. In a world where Music is Magic, a song can save or ruin your life. In THE IMMATERIAL GIRL, we discover what a video can do.

GEORGE:In the works for years, Phonogram makes its triumphant return. Co-creators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have seen their star rise with their excellent work on Young Avengers and The Wicked & The Divine, but it all started in Phonogram. The central metaphor of music as magic is a good one, and I’m glad Gillen and McKelvie have more stories to tell in this setting.

PROVIDENCE #3 Writer: Alan Moore Artist: Jacen Burrows Publisher: Avatar Press Cover Price: $4.99 SOLICITATION: In this super-sized, ad-free, third issue, Alan Moore continues to re-define horror in this amazing tome of Lovecraftian influenced nightmares. Providence is an amazing and unique work where Moore has written every cover, every single page, and every nuance of this work to create his most fully-realized vision to date. In this issue, ‘A Lurking Fear’, Robert Black visits the Bogg’s Refinery in Salem and is introduced to some most peculiar-looking local folks. And a few denizens with very bad intentions. Available with Regular, Pantheon, Portrait, Dreamscape Wraparound, Women of HPL, and a special Ancient Tome Incentive cover, all by collaborator Jacen Burrows.

CHRIS:Man, Alan Moore has drawn me in with this one. I’m a huge H.P. Lovecraft fan and seeing Moore use Lovecraft’s themes and stories is entertaining or, at the very least, educational. Burrows packs the pages with details and while $4.99 is a hard price to swallow, there’s more than enough content to justify the cost.

GEORGE:Don’t be put off by the supreme hyperbole of the solicitation text (how exactly has Moore written “every cover?”). Moore’s take on Lovecraft is excellently ominous, which so far avoids the vicious misanthropy that hamstrung his earlier Neonomicon. It has all the denseness particular to Moore’s latter works, but is still readable and interesting.

CHRIS:I’m not the biggest fan of Secret Wars but it’s entertaining and I’ve been anxiously waiting for answers. Owen Reece died for our sins, huh? Will this explain why there is a statue of him sitting in Doom’s garden? If you want to wash the taste of the Fanstic Four movie’s Dr. Doom out of your mouth, this is the book to read as you will see just how awesome Doom can be. Secret Wars will also end up explaining why we’ll be getting whole batch of number ones in two months. I’d like to personally thank Mr. Hickman making it so I have to hear people’s moaning about it at the store. (So you still want us to sign you up for all the issues?…)

ROB: So far, the first few issues have been setting up our temporary status quo and making the players known. It looks like here out should be getting to the meat of our story as those players start to clash. Also, who is Owen Reece?

ROB: The Battleworld title has been a decent chunk of variety in the Secret Wars tie-ins, and has been mostly good stories, I’d say keep it up.

STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN: THE SPECTRUM WAR #2 of 6 Writer: Mike Johnson Artist: Angel Hernandez Publisher: IDW Publishing Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: The comics crossover event of 2015 continues here! Hal Jordan meets Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise for the first time as six Lantern rings choose new bearers! But which Trek characters – and which alien races – will be selected? Iconic franchises collide for the first time in this all-new galaxy-spanning epic!

WAYNE:In my wildest dreams, I never thought this crossover would happen, so I’m enjoying it immensely! It’s not too late to jump on board if you happened to miss the debut issue!

STAR WARS LANDO #2 Writer: Charles Soule Artist: Alex Maleev Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $3.99 SOLICITATION: Before he joined the rebellion, before he ran Cloud City, Lando made his way in the galaxy getting by on some swindles, some swagger, and a smile. Lobot at his side, Lando has a plan to steal a very valuable ship… but has he bitten off more than he can chew?

MATTHEW: You gotta love Lando, and issue #1 was quite good…

STARFIRE #3 Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner Artists: :Ray McCarthy, Emanuela Lupacchino Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: $2.99 SOLICITATION: Starfire picks up the pieces and finds her new home in the aftermath of the storm! But while our hero helps her community heal, a creature from the underworld emerges to threaten all she hopes to protect! What is this creature’s hidden motive? And why does it seem to get bigger every time Starfire punches it?

ROB:Starfire has been 3 parts adorable and 1 part awesome for the last two issues. Lets hope that keeps up as I’m enjoying the more innocent version of her that we have here.

RODRIGO:I’m curious about this series, seems like a deliberate move away from the New 52’s Supersexysex Starfire.

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